Security scare as flier gets off flight

Mumbai: A passenger who deplaned at the last moment from a Lucknow-Mumbai flight created a security scare on Monday evening as a rumour that he had got off furtively leaving behind his bag got going in the media.
The incident brought back memories of the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing as it came at a time when terror emails and phone calls have been keeping the country on its toes. At around 9.15 pm, a rumour went around that a passenger on board Jetlite’s Lucknow-Mumbai flight S2-0668 had deplaned without anyone’s knowledge leaving behind his luggage in the belly hold of the aircraft.
The passenger, identified as Harsh Kamdar, had indeed deplaned minutes before take-off. But he had not done it surreptitiously. “He got an SMS from his wife saying that she had been admitted to a hospital for delivery and so he informed the cabin crew that he did not wish to travel,’’ said the spokesperson. However, deplaning was not that easy. “He had no hand baggage, but he had checked in a bag, which was identified and removed. Then as he had boarded the aircraft before changing his plans, the hand baggages of all the other passengers inside the aircraft were checked,’’ she added.
While the flight left for Mumbai, Kamdar had to stay put at the Lucknow airport with the security officials till such time as the flight landed safely in Mumbai.
23/09/08 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Sep 2008, JetLite Sep 2008, Safety Sep 2008